


The Year Remus Lupin Made Friends

by dduucckk



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Marauders Friendship (Harry Potter), Remus Lupin Never Went to Hogwarts, yall im so fucking bad at tags send help
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:08:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28286004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dduucckk/pseuds/dduucckk
Summary: James was sixteen years old, and it was summertime. Sirius and Pete were staying with him, Pete for a week, Sirius for the whole summer and hopefully every holiday after it too. James wanted to play quidditch, but the risk of being seen by muggles was too high, and his parents wouldn’t allow it. James was also very stubborn. His parents should have known to keep a closer eye on the boys, but some things can’t be helped. Here is what happened:
Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 17
Kudos: 73





	The Year Remus Lupin Made Friends

**Author's Note:**

> hey yall! this is a secret Santa gift for someone in a discord server. hope yall like it! :))

The Potters live on a long, tree lined street, where all the houses are big and shiny and well kept up, and the backyards are as pretty as the front yards, and the people sit on their wraparound porches and wave to each other as they drink their morning coffee. James loves it. He’s always loved it, ever since he was a tiny little boy chasing leaves as the wind blew them here and there, and the neighbours always kept an eye out to make sure he didn’t run into the street, and some of them even gave him cookies. He had free reign of all the backyards, and could climb fences and burrow through hedges to his heart’s content, stopped only by friendly hellos and how are yous and how are you parents. He knows every corner of that street by heart, has mapped every nook and cranny, every flower in every yard is known to James Potter.

Except for one.

At the far end of the cul-de-sac, tucked behind trees and unkempt grass, is a tiny little cottage. It doesn’t match the rest of the street. Its roof is sagging, and its paint is chipping, although the bright colour shows that the owners haven't stopped caring about their home so much as they have lost the means to do so. In the backyard, a small patch of earth has been cleared and is used as a little garden, although James doesn’t know that. He doesn’t know anything about this house, because the owners rarely leave, and they never talk to the neighbours. The one and only time that James’s parents enforced a rule was to remind him to never, _ever_ go in that backyard. They were adamant that he stay off that particular property, because they don’t know the people who live there, and don’t want to risk any trouble. So James avoided that yard as much as he possibly could, and was successful for almost his entire childhood.

Almost.

There were three near misses.

One:

James was seven years old, and it was fall, and he was chasing a leaf. Autumn leaves were pretty, with their bright colours and the way that they felt in his hands. James liked them. So he chased them, following wherever the wind took them. On this particular day, the wind took it into that particular backyard. James, being the (mostly) good son that he was, remembered his parent’s warnings and stopped short at the edge of the fence, but _oh_ the leaf was so _pretty_ , and the wind made it dance so _perfectly_ , and then suddenly he found himself in the garden, the leaf in his hands. It wasn’t his first incident of accidental magic, but it certainly was one of the more memorable ones. It ended in him scrambling up and over the fence while a man shouted at him from the back door.

Two:

James was eleven years old, and he was home for Christmas break in the middle of his very first year at Hogwarts. He wasted no time whatsoever in telling his parents all about his teachers, and his classes, and his friends. His parents recognized the name Pettigrew, and planned to have the family over for supper. They recognized the name Black, and they winced, but planned for the boy to come over the same night as the Pettigrews. Let it never be said that the Potters are unkind people, only that they are wary of those who might hurt their son.

The Pettigrews showed up first, and James immediately took Peter outside to play in the snow that had fallen a few days previously. He showed his friend around the backyards, and they built four snowmen and had three separate snowball fights. By the time they reached the far end of the cul-de-sac, both boys were rosy cheeked and breathless, and absolutely covered in snow. Peter threw himself into a snowbank and laid back, staring up at the tree branches. James did the same, and they were silent for a long minute.

Then, something caught Peter’s eye.

“There, in the window, see? I think I see someone!” He pointed up to a small window on the top floor of the cottage, just barely visible through the branches.

“People do live there, Pete.”

“Yeah, but he looks about our age! We should go say hi.”

James squinted up at the window. He took off his glasses, and, when he couldn’t find any dry bit of fabric to wipe them on, put them back on.

“It could be someone our age,” he said skeptically, “But it could also just be someone really short.”

“ _I_ think it’s someone our age.” Peter was insistent. “We should go sa––”

“Wait!” James grabbed his arm. “Do you hear that?”

“What?”

“The door just opened. There’s someone in the backyard.”

“So?”

“Let’s go, come on!” James set off at a run, tugging Peter behind him.

Three:

James was sixteen years old, and it was summertime. Sirius and Pete were staying with him, Pete for a week, Sirius for the whole summer and hopefully every holiday after it too. James wanted to play quidditch, but the risk of being seen by muggles was too high, and his parents wouldn’t allow it. James was also very stubborn. His parents should have known to keep a closer eye on the boys, but some things can’t be helped. Here is what happened:

James, Sirius, and Peter took their brooms, a quaffle, and a snitch, and they snuck through the backyards. All three of them were well practiced at this by now, with Sirius and Peter nearly as light on their feet as James. They went completely undetected by any neighbours, and soon were at the far end of the street, near the little cottage. Behind the cottage was a small clearing, just large enough for three boys and their makeshift quidditch game. James had discovered the clearing the year before, when he was wandering around, decidedly _not_ trying to see the face in the window that Peter had seen all those years ago. James hadn’t seen the face since, but that hadn’t stopped him from trying, no matter how silly he felt doing it.

They spent at least an hour up in the air, tossing the quaffle around and trying to catch the snitch. Then, after a particularly hard throw from James, Sirius’s fingers slipped. He missed the quaffle. The boys watched in horror as it sailed through the air, directly above the forbidden backyard and _smash!_ through a window.

The very same window that James had been staring at for years.

The boys looked at each other, exchanging a single horrified glance before turning back to the window. For a moment, all was still and silent. Then, someone leaned gingerly out the window. In his hands was the quaffle.

“Did you drop this?” he asked.

It was at that moment that James realized that they were still on their brooms, in the air, and that this boy was most likely a muggle. Fuck. He contemplated the possibility of landing and acting like nothing had happened, but that might turn out even worse in the long run. On the other hand, flying up to the boy’s window was certainly not an option. Or, not one James would consider. Sirius seemed to think it a fine option.

James and Peter shared an agonized look as Sirius swooped down to hover outside the broken window. He took the quaffle from the boy, and they seemed to be having an animated conversation, although they were too far away for James or Peter to be able to hear any of it.

Sirius waved to the boy and flew back, a bright grin on his face.

“Well, boys, I think we found ourselves another Marauder.”

~~~

The boy, Sirius told them, was named Remus Lupin, and he was a wizard. When James asked why they hadn’t seen him at school, Sirius shrugged.

“He says he’s homeschooled.”

“And you didn’t think to ask why?”

“Seems a bit rude, doesn’t it?”

“Does it?” James looked to Peter, who nodded vigorously. He sighed. “Fine, okay, it’s a bit rude. Did he say anything else?”

Sirius shrugged. “He’s sixteen, same as us. Doesn’t have a whole lot of friends, I think. We should invite him to play quidditch with us.”

James perked up at that. “Yes! And then we’ll have even teams _and_ a new Marauder!”

Peter nodded eagerly, and it was decided. Remus Lupin would be part of their group, whether he liked it or not.

~~~

Remus Lupin did, in fact, like it. He liked it very much. He’d spent a long time staring out windows, watching people come and go, and he was rarely one of those people himself. It wasn’t that he was locked inside the house; he was perfectly allowed to go outside and make friends if he wanted to, but it was easier if he didn’t. That’s what he had convinced himself, anyway. It would be easier for him to spend his time near the house, in the backyard and the trees, than to spend it with people.

Remus Lupin was lonely. He had happily taken up the offer of quidditch, because these boys seemed nice, and because his mother had given him a pointed look and his father had cleared his throat from behind his newspaper. So Remus took his broom that his father had taught him to ride, and he went out into the clearing behind his mother’s garden.

The boys were loud and boisterous and they never stopped talking, and Remus couldn’t decide if he loved it or hated it. He would have to see them again to find out, he decided. After the second time, he still hadn’t found out. And not after the third, or fourth, or even fifth time. And then not for the whole summer, and then, after they left with hugs and promises of letters and stories and sweets, and he went back to his room and sat there quietly staring out the window, well. Then he found out.

He loved it.

He’d never laughed so much in his life as he had that summer, and his parents had noticed the change. He’d been happier, and more energetic, and he’d been eager to leave the house and go on adventures with his friends. They saw the change again, when he became quieter and more withdrawn that fall. It didn’t suit him, they found. Before that summer, the solitude had fit like a second skin, but now it chafed, and it hurt, and he wanted _out_.

So he wrote letters. Countless letters, all to his new friends, who wrote even more back. He still avoided their questions about why he was homeschooled, and although it was easier to hide his “illness” when he could just not mention anything about it in his letters, the letters were a pale substitute for the boys he had spent the summer with.

Winter break came, and Remus’s parents watched in amazement as he brightened a little more with each day he got to spend with James and Sirius. Peter couldn’t come that year, and he was missed by the other three, but nevertheless, the Lupin house had never been filled with as much joy and laughter as it was that Christmas. Remus revelled in his new friends, and his parents saw the way that he looked at one in particular, and the way that that one particular friend looked back at him, and smiled.

The full moon was just two days before James and Sirius had to go back to Hogwarts. The two of them were, understandably, baffled when Remus told them that he wouldn’t be able to see them before they left, but while James stifled his curiosity, Sirius was unable to do the same.

“Weren’t you the one saying it would be rude to ask why he’s homeschooled?”

“Yeah, well this isn’t asking why he’s homeschooled, is it?”

“Is it really that different?”

“Yes.”

“Sirius––”

“ _James_. I want to know if he’s okay.”

James sighed. “Fine. But I’m not going with you.”

“Fine by me!”

~~~

On the last day before Christmas break ended, Sirius knocked on Remus’s door. In his hands was a tin of cookies that he and James had baked the night before. He had no plans of telling Remus about James’s (frankly negligible) involvement in the making of said cookies.

Remus’s mother opened the door, and Sirius greeted her with his most winning smile.

“Hi, Mrs Lupin! Is Remus here?”

“I’m afraid he’s not feeling well, my dear,” she replied with a smile. Sirius held up the tin.

“I have cookies for him.”

“Oh, that’s lovely, I’ll bring them up to him.”

“Please can I see him, Mrs Lupin?”

“I really am sorry, love, but he doesn’t want any company right now. He’ll appreciate the cookies very much, though.”

And so Sirius was turned away.

~~~

“I don’t get it!”

James groaned. “Sirius, not everything is a mystery waiting to be solved. Remus was sick and didn’t want to pass it on to you, it’s that simple.”

“No, he was _planning_ to be sick. That’s weird, James, you have to admit.”

“Maybe he was already not feeling great.”

“ _James!_ ”

“ _Sirius!_ ”

“Both of you stop,” Peter interrupted. “You’ve been going over this for _months_ , I don’t think you’re going to suddenly agree on it.”

“And that’s the other thing!” Sirius said. “In every single letter where I’ve mentioned it, he just completely ignored that bit!” He sat back in his seat, looking exceedingly satisfied with himself. Peter sighed and leaned his head against the window.

The boys were on the Hogwarts Express, heading to King’s Cross Station for Easter break, and Sirius was determined to find out what was going on with Remus.

“We’re good friends, right? He can trust me.”

Peter rolled his eyes. “It’s not so much a question of if he can trust you, and more of a question of if he can trust all three of us.”

Sirius crossed his arms. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Are you trying to tell me that you wouldn’t immediately come running to us once you found out?”

“No, of course not!”

“You're a terrible liar.”

~~~

“Remus?”

“Yeah?”

“Why couldn’t you see us at the end of Christmas break?”

“Sirius––”

“Please, Remus, I just want to know.”

“It’s none of your business.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t want it to be.”

“Why don’t you want it to be?”

“Sirius…”

“Fine, I’ll stop asking.”

“Thank you.”

“For now. Shall we go find James and Pete?”

“Yes, please.”

~~~

Sirius was unsuccessful over Easter break. He had, however, succeeded in spending an enormous amount of time alone with Remus, which he considered to be a win for different reasons entirely.

_Sirius,_

_Why would you ask for a picture of me? You know very well what I look like, and, frankly, I’m not sure it will provide you any comfort to see my ugly face staring at you. It’s better that you remember it through the rose tinted glasses of nostalgia._

_Please, please don’t tell me that you’re actually going to do that prank. If you must, then at least use a permanent sticking charm rather than a temporary one._

_My mother is calling me for supper, so I can’t say much more, but please, I’m begging you, keep me updated on James’s attempts at romance. They bring so much joy to my day._

_Remus_

**Remus,**

**How dare you call yourself ugly? I’ll have you know what you are the epitome of beauty and the picture is for me to gaze at longingly as I pine after you.**

**You’re right, the permanent sticking charm was exactly the final piece we needed! Whatever would we do without you, my dear, dear Remus?**

**Oh, if you think James trying to woo Evans has been funny so far, just wait until you hear this:  
Today, she came into the Great Hall with her friends, as usual, and James was staring, practically drooling into the eggs, as usual, and then she sat across from us! And then, dearest Remus, Evans laughed at one of James’s jokes! One of his truly horrible ones. I don’t know where she’s going with this, but I’m sure she has a plan. (no, I haven’t told James, how could I be so cruel as to dash his hopes like that?)**

**Unfortunately transfiguration class calls, so I have to go. Please send me the picture, I’m simply wasting away without it.**

**Yours,**

**Sirius**

~~~

Remus often blushed when reading Sirius’s letters. Sirius was a shameless flirt, and Remus still hadn’t decided if he wanted it to continue or not. On one hand, he could pretend that Sirius was actually, really flirting with him, and that was a wonderful feeling. On the other hand, when he remembered that Sirius wasn’t actually flirting with him, well. That hurt a little bit more each time.

He sent Sirius a picture of him flipping the camera the bird. Sirius sent one back of him blowing a kiss. Remus kept it in his bedside table, and looked at it more than was probably normal for a boy to look at a picture of his friend.

He was both dreading and eagerly awaiting Sirius’s return at the beginning of the summer.

~~~

“Remus, dear, you’re nice and tall. Can you see them?”

Remus craned his neck to see over the crowd at King’s Cross station. “Not yet, Mrs Potter. Oh! Wait! There they are!” He lifted an arm and waved at his friends, nearly knocking a nearby woman’s hat off in the process. She grumbled at him, and he apologized, and she straightened the vulture shaped monstrosity, and then Remus couldn’t focus on her anymore because he was very suddenly wrapped up in the arms of the one and only Sirius Black.

“Remus! I’ve missed you so much!”

Remus laughed as he hugged Sirius back. “Was the picture not enough?”

“Not _nearly_ ,” Sirius said with a dramatic swoon. Remus laughed, and Sirius looked quite pleased with himself. Then it was James’s turn for a hug, then Peter, and then Mrs Potter was dragging all four boys through the crowd as they clung to each other and their luggage. They apparated to the Potter’s house, and it took them a grand total of five minutes before they were piling out the door, brooms in hand.

~~~

“Remember how we first met?” Sirius was sitting on the grass next to Remus, leaning up against the tree as they watched James and Peter still flying above them. Remus had quickly become too tired for the game, and when he had said that he was happy to just watch, Sirius had declared himself utterly knackered and sat with Remus. “Well?” he said. “Do you?”

Remus laughed. “Of course I do. It was only a year ago.”

“It feels like a lot longer.”

“I suppose it does, yeah.” Remus watched James and Peter, but his eyes were distant. Sirius rested his head on Remus’s shoulder.

“I thought you were beautiful,” he whispered. Remus’s stomach dropped to the center of the Earth.

“What?”

“When I first saw you.” Sirius said it simply, plainly, as if it were obvious and not shaking Remus’s world to its very core. “I thought you were the most beautiful person in the world.”

Something about the way that Sirius was looking at him made Remus brave. “I think that particular title should go to you.”

Sirius blushed a brilliant red, and gave Remus a tiny, disbelieving smile. “No, it’s definitely yours.”

Remus shook his head. He could swear they were getting closer, although he didn’t think he was moving. And then, suddenly, Sirius’s lips were on his.

Remus was sure he made a noise, and probably an embarrassing one, but Sirius either didn’t notice or didn’t care, because his hand slid up to hold on to Remus’s shoulder and he didn’t stop kissing him. Remus didn’t know what to do with his own hands, or his mouth, or anything at all. All he knew was that Sirius was kissing him, and if this was a dream, then he was going to be absolutely furious.

Sirius pulled away slightly, letting the tips of their noses bump together as they grinned like fools. Remus finally gathered the coordination necessary to move his hands, and touched Sirius’s arms. He had planned to go further, maybe up to the shoulder, but he froze there, because Sirius was smiling and it was absolutely captivating.

“This isn’t a dream, right?” Remus asked. Sirius shook his head.

“I really fucking hope not.” He laughed, and Remus laughed, and then Sirius kissed him again, and he just couldn’t get enough of it. He was dizzy and breathless with happiness (and maybe from the kissing too), and for a moment nothing else in the world existed except for them.

Then, the quaffle landed on Sirius’s toe, and he jumped and yelped and shouted up at James to “Watch where you’re throwing that fucking ball, please and thank you!”, and James laughed, and so did Peter and Remus, and Sirius pouted, but then he started laughing as well, and Remus’s life had never been so perfect.

**Author's Note:**

> and then remus told them that hes a werewolf and they were like "cool can we see?" and he was like "no?? thats a bad idea" and they were like "fuck that we wanna see" and became animagi and saw but dan was too lazy to write that bc it was midnight and they were tired :(( rest assured that it happens and they live happily ever after
> 
> come say hi on [tumblr!](https://dduucckk.tumblr.com)


End file.
